Radial stacking conveyor system with feeder

ABSTRACT

A device conveying a solid material into a radially-arranged stockpile. The device has a a trailer chassis, with at least one wheeled axle at a first end thereof and, at a second end thereof, means provided for attaching the trailer chassis to a tractor in a mobile condition and for fixed mounting in an operational condition. A stacking conveyor is mounted near the first end of the trailer chassis. A power unit for generating electrical and hydraulic power is positioned on the trailer chassis. A feed system is mounted to the trailer chassis and extends generally along the length thereof from the second end to the first end, to receive the solid material at the second end and transport the solid material to the stacking conveyor.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. non-provisional applicationSer. No. 16/968,742, filed on 10 Aug. 2020, issued as U.S. Pat. No.11,319,170 on 3 May 2022, which is in turn a national stage entry of PCTapplication PCT/US2019/17619, filed 12 Feb. 2019, which is anon-provisional of U.S. provisional application 62/629,933, filed on 13Feb. 2018. All cited applications are incorporated by reference as iffully recited herein. Priority is claimed to each of the applications.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The disclosed embodiments of the present invention relate to a radialstacking conveyor that is mounted on a chassis. Also mounted on thechassis are a belt feeder, a swing bearing for rotating the stackingconveyor and a power pack for operating the individual components

BACKGROUND

Portable stacking conveyors are known in the art for conveying a solidmaterial from ground level to an above-ground discharge point. Thematerial falls from the discharge point to form a generally conicaldischarge pile, the dimensions of which are generally defined by thenatural angle of repose of the material.

Such a device has a conveyor body. The first end, which is positioned ator near ground level when in use, is adapted with a hopper to receivethe material, hydraulics to raise or lower the angle of the conveyorbody and power to drive belt arranged along the conveyor body. Thisfirst end is also typically provided with a hitch for towing the device.The device also is provided with a wheeled support structure. Thisstructure typically has first and second arms that extend from an axleon which the wheel are located to points on the conveyor body. The angleof elevation and height of the second, or discharge, end of the conveyorbody can be hydraulically controlled using these arms. In some cases,the length of the conveyor body is also variable, usually withhydraulics. The wheeled axle is located at or near the center of thelength of the conveyor body.

In some circumstances, the wheels can be swiveled, so that the conveyorbody can be moved angularly about a center point defined by the firstend of the conveyor body. When this capability is provided, thedischarge pile can have a profile, when viewed in plan view, that isannular rather than circular. However, this movement of the conveyorbody is time consuming and represents downtime in which the dischargepile is not being built up. In the known prior art, the act of turningthe axle into the position which allows the conveyor to be used as aradial conveyor requires the conveyor to be raised to its maximumstockpiling height. Then, the axle must be raised, either manually or bymechanical means, to turn the wheels to the desired side position. Thisoperation is quite dangerous, as the conveyor, once raised in the air,is top heavy and can easily be flipped over. Once a stockpile area isfilled, the operation has to be performed in reverse in order to movethe conveyor forward. The act of moving the conveyor forward for morestockpiling (or to get it ready for transport) requires the conveyor toremain fully raised until it clears the stockpile while it is beingmoved, again providing a serious risk. Additionally, the base materialunder a raised conveyor needs to be well compacted, to reduce the riskof rollover. This latter issue is a matter of routine concern at manyjob sites, where the base material may be loose and the conditions canchange with weather, other equipment moving around, and the like.

It is therefore an unmet advantage of the prior art to provide a radialstacking conveyor device in which all of the elements of the device aremounted on a chassis that significantly reduces downtime when rotatingthe conveyor body.

SUMMARY

This and other unmet advantages are provided by a device for conveying asolid material into a radially-arranged stockpile, comprising:

a trailer chassis, having, at a first end thereof, at least one wheeledaxle and, at a second end thereof, means provided for attaching thechassis to a tractor in a mobile condition and for fixed mounting in anoperational condition;

a stacking conveyor, mounted near the first end of the chassis;

a power unit for generating electrical and hydraulic power; and

a feed system, mounted to the chassis and extending generally along thelength thereof from the second end to the first end, to receive thesolid material at the second end and transport the solid material to thestacking conveyor.

In some embodiments, the device further comprises a turret, providingthe mounting of the stacking conveyor to the chassis, the turretarranged on a top surface of the chassis for rotation about an axisnormal thereto, a first end of the stacking conveyor fixedly mounted tothe turret.

In some of these embodiments, the axis of rotation of the turret iscentered above the at least one wheeled axle and the first end of thestacking conveyor is located along the axis of rotation.

In some embodiments, the feed system comprises a feed hopper, a firstfeed conveyor and a second feed conveyor. In that case, solid materialis loaded and stored in the feed hopper, moved from the feed hopper tothe second feed conveyor by the first feed conveyor and moved to thefirst end of the stacking conveyor by the second feed conveyor.

In some embodiments, the second feed conveyor is an articulatedconveyor, with an arm having first and second arm portions connected byan elbow joint, the arm movable between a folded or stowed condition fortransport and an open or extended condition for operation.

In some embodiments, the power unit is mounted to the chassis betweenthe feed system and the stacking conveyor.

In many of the embodiments, the stacking conveyor comprises atelescoping arm having a first portion and a second portion, such thatthe second portion is movable between a withdrawn position inside thefirst portion and an extended position outside of the first portion.

In many of the embodiments, the power unit is a diesel generator.

Other objects and advantages of the inventive concept are achieved by amethod of conveying a solid material into a radially-arranged stockpile.This method comprises the first step of providing a device forstockpiling the solid material, comprising a trailer chassis, having, ata first end thereof, at least one wheeled axle and, at a second endthereof, means provided for attaching the chassis to a tractor in amobile condition and for fixed mounting in an operational condition, astacking conveyor, mounted near the first end of the chassis, a powerunit for generating electrical and hydraulic power, and a feed system,mounted to the chassis and extending generally along the length thereoffrom the second end to the first end, to receive the solid material atthe second end and transport the solid material to the stackingconveyor, wherein the stacking conveyor is mounted for rotation to thechassis atop a turret and the stacking conveyor has an arm with at leasta withdrawn length and an extended length.

Then, the device is positioned at a location for the stockpile,establishing the turret of the device as a center from which thestockpile is deposited. From this point an initial stockpile isestablished through the sub-steps of:

rotating the stacking conveyor, using the turret, to an initialposition;

depositing the solid material to a predetermined height, using the feedsystem and the stacking conveyor, with the arm in the withdrawn length;and

extending the arm to the extended length and, without rotating thestacking conveyor, depositing further solid material, providing theinitial stockpile with a higher height and further radial reach from thecenter.

From this point, a radially-arranged stockpile is established byestablishing at least one secondary stockpile, adjacent to and abuttingthe initial stockpile, by the steps of:

rotating the stacking conveyor, using the turret, without moving thechassis on the at least one wheeled axle, by a predetermined angularamount;

depositing the solid material to a predetermined height, using the feedsystem and the stacking conveyor, with the arm in the withdrawn length;

extending the arm to the extended length and, without rotating thestacking conveyor, depositing further solid material, providing thestockpile with a higher height and further radial reach from the center;and

repeating the steps for establishing the radially-arranged stockpile byestablishing a predetermined number of secondary stockpiles.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

A better understanding of the disclosed embodiments will be obtainedfrom a reading of the following detailed description and theaccompanying drawings wherein identical reference characters refer toidentical parts and in which:

FIG. 1 is a side elevation view of an embodiment of the radial stackingconveyor system, in a stowed condition as during transport;

FIG. 2 is a side elevation view of the radial stacking conveyor systemof FIG. 1, in an operative position;

FIGS. 3A and 3B show, respectively, top plan views of the embodimentwith the stacking conveyor in a withdrawn condition and in an extendedcondition;

FIG. 4 shows a top plan view of the embodiment, with the stackingconveyor extending perpendicular to a central axis of the chassis;

FIGS. 5A and 5B show, in respective side elevation views, the embodimentof the radial stacking conveyor system in two different operativepositions, producing a discharge pile; and

FIG. 6 is a top plan view of the embodiment of the radial stackingconveyor system in an operative position, producing a discharge pile.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF A PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

FIGS. 1 and 2 show side elevation views of an embodiment 10 of theradial stacking conveyor system embodying the inventive design, withFIG. 1 showing the embodiment 10 in a stowed condition for transport andFIG. 2 showing the embodiment in a deployed condition for operation.Primary to the embodiment 10 is a chassis 20, preferably of aconventional design, especially a chassis having a low deck. In achassis 20 of this type, there will be at least one wheeled axle 22 at afirst end 24 of the chassis. The depicted embodiment 10 has three suchaxles 22. The opposite second end 26 of the chassis 20 is adapted to behitched to a tractor cab (not shown) and is further adapted to provide abase for the second end when not engaged to a tractor.

Several items are shown in FIG. 1 as being provided on the chassis.While exact placement as shown in FIG. 1 is not required, items arearranged in what is believed to be a preferred manner.

A turret 30, in the nature of a swing bearing and preferably configuredfor 360° rotation, is positioned directly atop the axles 22, near thefirst end 24 of the chassis 20. Mounted atop the turret 30 is a stackingconveyor 40, which will be described in more detail below. In FIG. 1,the stacking conveyor 40 is shown in a stowed condition, as it would befor transport of the system 10. FIG. 1 also shows a counterweight stack36, positioned on the turret 30, for the purpose of balancing the weightloading.

Located generally amidships of the chassis 20 is a power unit 50,preferably a self-contained power unit, and more preferably, a dieselgenerator, for generating electrical and/or hydraulic power for use bythe system 10. This power unit is of conventional design and itscapacity will be determined by the power requirements of the system 10as configured.

Moving further toward the second end 26 of the chassis 20 is a feedsystem 60, comprising, in the depicted embodiment, a feed hopper 70, afirst feed conveyor 80 and a second feed conveyor 90. Of particular noteis the fact that the second feed conveyor 90 is depicted as anarticulated conveyor, with the arm 92 thereof being folded into a stowedcondition, as it would be during transport. It is also a feature of manyembodiments of second feed conveyor 90 to allow the lower section of thearm 92A to be inclined, with the lower section in a lowered condition inFIG. 1 and in a raised condition in FIG. 2.

It is also noted that, in the stowed condition of the system 10 as shownin FIG. 1, second feed conveyor 90 may rely upon power unit 50 forsupport and may be mechanically secured to the power unit duringtransport, although the preferred manner of stowing the second fedconveyor is to configure it to fold 180 degrees back onto itself andlower down into the chassis 20. In such a manner, the second feedconveyor does not need to rely upon the power unit 50 for any support.Similarly, a portion of stacking conveyor 40 may rely upon the secondfeed conveyor 90 for support and may be mechanically secured theretoduring transport. The preferred manner of stowing the telescopingstacking conveyor 40 is to rotate it and lower its distal end into thetop portion of the feed system 60.

In the stowed condition of FIG. 1, the highest elevation of the system10 above the ground should be an upper surface of the stacking conveyor40. This highest elevation will be set such that the system can betransported under any bridge or overpass that may be expected to beencountered. This may vary from region to region, but a typical maximumheight of the system, when in the stowed condition, will be in the rangeof 13′ 6″±1′.

Although the depicted embodiment 10 shows a feed system 60, it is alsodesirable in alternate embodiments to modify this portion of theembodiment to allow for a direct truck unloading hopper to replace thebelt feeder. In such a case, either an end dump truck or a belly dumptruck can drive up and unload directly into the hopper, which would, inturn, feed the second feed conveyor 90 and telescopic boom stacker 40.Another alternate embodiment would have a small receiving hopper in lieuof the belt feeder. The small receiving hopper would accept materialbeing fed from another chute or conveyor, allowing the embodiment towork in line with other processing equipment. It may also be possible inalternate embodiments to replace the axles 2 with another means fortransporting the device, such as a crawler track undercarriage.

It is also noted that FIGS. 1 and 2 both show an agitator device 130 toone end of the belt feeder 60. This agitator 130 Is configured to breakup material that has been fed into the feed system 60, to provide asteady and even flow of product to the second feed conveyor 90. In apreferred embodiment, the agitator 130 is designed to fold downhydraulically on top of the second feed conveyor 90 when not in use, sothat the telescopic second conveyor 90 to pass over the top of it. Theagitator 130 preferably has a plurality of rotating shafts (preferablythree shafts) with the lower two of the shafts 134 horizontally movableto affect the spacing between the blades thereon and the feeder headgulley.

A pair of hydraulically-extendible outriggers 140 are located at thefirst end 24 of the chassis 20. These deploy in order to provide addedstability for the system while operating, but they retract into thechassis 20 for transport.

FIG. 2 provides an elevation view of the same side of the system 10, butwith the stacking conveyor 40 and the second feed conveyor 90 deployedin an operational condition. By comparison with FIG. 1, the mobility ofthe respective conveyors can be seen. First feed conveyor 80 is fixed inposition below feed hopper 70. As bulk material is deposited in the feedhopper 70, a belt 82 of the first feed conveyor 80, preferably drivenhydraulically, moves the bulk material axially along the chassis 20 inthe direction from the second end 26 towards the first end 24. The bulkmaterial drops off of the first feed conveyor 80 onto a feed platform 94at a first or lower end 96 of the second feed conveyor 90. Thisarticulated arm 92 is shown in an open or operative position in FIG. 2,while it is seen folded in FIG. 1. Articulated arm 92 comprises a firstportion 92 a and a second portion 92 b, the portions being connected atan elbow joint 93. Power, typically hydraulic power, and especiallyhydraulic power from power unit 50, is used to pivot second portion 92 babout the elbow joint 93. This pivoting action covers a range of up toabout 150° to 160° in moving between the stowed and operationalpositions. Typically, conveyors 80, 90, will be aligned along a centralaxis of the chassis 20 and the stacking conveyor 40 will have a firstend 42 thereof fixed along the same central axis. In this way, bulkmaterial can move from the feed hopper 70 to the first end 42 of thestacking conveyor 40. As shown in FIG. 2, it may be preferred in someembodiments to use part of the power unit 50 as a support for the secondfeed conveyor 90, especially the first portion 92 a of the articulatedarm. As with the first feed conveyor 80, a belt 95 is driven by power totransport bulk material from a first end 96 of the second feed conveyor90 to a second end 98. FIG. 2 also shows how the deployment of thearticulated arm 92 into the operative position arranges the second end98 above the first end 42 of stacking conveyor 40. It also shows howthis first end 42 of stacking conveyor 40 is positioned at an end of rod32 that extends upwardly from the turret 30, the rod 32 beingessentially aligned along an axis of rotation of the turret

A few additional features of the stacking conveyor 40 are seen in FIGS.1 and 2. Stacking conveyor 40 preferably has a telescoping arm 44 madeup of first portion 44 a and second portion 44 b. In the stowedcondition of FIG. 1, the large majority of the length of second portion44 b is shown drawn into the length of first portion 44 a. As is knownin the conveyor art, this withdrawal of the second portion 44 b into thefirst portion 44 a, or the extension of the second portion out of thefirst portion, is achieved by known mechanical techniques, usingelectrical or hydraulic power. FIG. 2 also shows a hydraulic cylinder 34is positioned between rod 32 and arm 44, so that it can raise or lowerthe angle of the arm relative to the ground.

FIGS. 3a and 3b illustrate the ability of the stacking conveyor 40 to beextended or withdrawn, using the telescoping nature of the arm 44. Inthese top plan views, the arm 44 is shown as extending outwardly fromthe chassis 20, along the central axis of the chassis, in what has beenreferred to as the operative position. In FIG. 3a , the arm 44 is in thewithdrawn position, with arm portion 44 b telescoped into arm 44 a. InFIG. 3b , the arm 44 is in the extended position, with arm portion 44 bextended from arm 44 a.

FIG. 4 shows a top plan view of the embodiment 10, with arm 44 in theextended position, similar to FIG. 3b , except that the arm is extendingperpendicular to the central axis of the chassis 20 in FIG. 4. While notexplicitly shown in the figures, arm 44 can rotate, by use of the turret30, through the 90° of rotation between the positions shown in FIGS. 4and 3 b. Likewise, the arm 44 can be rotated clockwise at least 90° fromthe FIG. 3b position, so that at least 180° of rotation is available toarm 44. This rotation is available in both the extended and withdrawnposition. In fact, with reference to FIG. 1, it is also seen that arm 44can be rotated 180° from the FIG. 3b position, demonstrating the abilityof turret 30 to provide 360° total rotation of arm 44 about rod 32.Although a turret 30 may be useful in practicing the inventive conceptwhile being limited to rotation through less than a full 360°, such fullrotation is clearly preferred.

FIGS. 5A, 5B and 6 demonstrate the ability of the embodiment 10 of theinvention to utilize the extension capability of arm 44 to lay down adischarge pile 100 of a larger size than is possible without theextension capability. As seen in FIG. 5A, which is a side elevationview, the arm 44 is in a first operative position, with arm portion 44Bwithdrawn into arm portion 44A. In this condition, and assuming an angleof repose 102 of the particular bulk material being discharged, a cone(as seen in sectional view) defined by points 104, 106, 108 may bedeposited. Then, and as seen in FIG. 5B, extending the arm 44 byextending arm portion 44B, puts the embodiment 10 into a secondoperative position, in which the profile of the discharge pile 100 canbe that defined by points 104, 106, 110, 112.

Then, as shown in top plan view in FIG. 6, by using the rotation of theturret 30 and the first and second operative positions of arm 44, thedischarge pile 100 that can be laid down is seen in top plan view. Thisdischarge pile 100 is arranged about a center defined by the turret 20.Because the turret 30 is able to make the rotation, shown here through a180° range, the chassis does not need to be physically moved from itsposition on the ground, which is a marked improvement from the prior artstacking conveyors. Of course, the angular rotation range of the turret30 is sufficiently large that the arm 44 can be rotated all of the wayback to the stowed position of FIG. 1 for transport.

With the foregoing explanation in mind, it is clear that an advantageprovided with the inventive concept is that the weight being borne iscentered at all times on the trailer chassis 20. The trailer chassis 20remains level with the ground, and, if necessary, may be supplementedwith leveling means that would not be easily implemented in the priorart systems. The rotating turret 30 is, optionally but preferablyprovided with the counterweight stack 36, which rotates with thestacking conveyor, keeping the weighted load centered on the rotatingmechanism which is centered between the axles. These features greatlyreduce the rollover dangers when stockpiling to the maximum capacity, atany angle, allows the unit to be easily and safely moved forward fromthe stockpile and in fact allows the unit to be totally folded into thetransport mode without even moving from the pile.

The combination of the feed conveyor and the telescopic rotating boomconveyor on the chassis also provides greatly increased stockpilingcapacity when compared to the known prior art. The combination ofadjustable height and telescoping length allow for more control of dustby allowing the discharge point of the material to be closer to theactual pile and also helps eliminate material segregation which occurswith the different size and density of the particles in the materialbeing conveyed.

Having shown and described a preferred embodiment of the invention,those skilled in the art will realize that many variations andmodifications may be made to affect the described invention and still bewithin the scope of the claimed invention. Thus, many of the elementsindicated above may be altered or replaced by different elements whichwill provide the same result and fall within the spirit of the claimedinvention. It is the intention, therefore, to limit the invention onlyas indicated by the scope of the claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A device for conveying a solid material into aradially-arranged stockpile, comprising: a trailer chassis, having, at afirst end thereof, at least one wheeled axle and, at a second endthereof, means provided for attaching the trailer chassis to a tractorin a mobile condition and for fixed mounting in an operationalcondition; a turret, arranged near the first end of the trailer chassison a top surface thereof for rotation about an axis normal thereto; astacking conveyor, having an arm with at least a withdrawn length and anextended length with a first end thereof fixedly mounted to the turretnear the first end of the trailer chassis; a power unit for generatingelectrical and hydraulic power; and a feed system, mounted to thetrailer chassis and extending generally along the length thereof fromthe second end to the first end, to receive the solid material at thesecond end and transport the solid material to the stacking conveyor,the feed system comprising a feed hopper, a first feed conveyor and asecond feed conveyor that is an articulated conveyor, with an arm havingfirst and second arm portions connected by an elbow joint, the armmovable between a folded or stowed condition for transport and an openor extended condition for operation; wherein, in the mobile condition,the second feed conveyor is in the folded condition and the turretrotates the stacking conveyor so that the stacking conveyor extends fromthe first end of the trailer chassis towards the second end of thetrailer chassis, above the second feed conveyor with a second end of thestacking conveyor above the feed hopper.
 2. The device of claim 1,wherein: the axis of rotation of the turret is centered above the atleast one wheeled axle and the first end of the stacking conveyor islocated along the axis of rotation.
 3. The device of claim 1, wherein:in the operational condition, solid material is loaded and stored in thefeed hopper, moved from the feed hopper to the second feed conveyor bythe first feed conveyor and moved to the first end of the stackingconveyor by the second feed conveyor, which is in the open or extendedcondition.
 4. The device of claim 1, wherein: the power unit is mountedto the trailer chassis between the feed system and the stackingconveyor.
 5. The device of claim 1, wherein: the stacking conveyorcomprises a telescoping arm having a first portion and a second portion,such that the second portion is movable between the withdrawn lengthinside the first portion and the extended length outside of the firstportion.
 6. The device of claim 1, wherein: the power unit is a dieselgenerator.
 7. The device of claim 2, wherein: in the operationalcondition, solid material is loaded and stored in the feed hopper, movedfrom the feed hopper to the second feed conveyor by the first feedconveyor and moved to the first end of the stacking conveyor by thesecond feed conveyor, which is in the open or extended condition.
 8. Thedevice of claim 2, wherein: the power unit is mounted to the trailerchassis between the feed system and the stacking conveyor.
 9. The deviceof claim 2, wherein: the stacking conveyor comprises a telescoping armhaving a first portion and a second portion, such that the secondportion is movable between the withdrawn length inside the first portionand the extended length outside of the first portion.
 10. The device ofclaim 2, wherein: the power unit is a diesel generator.
 11. The deviceof claim 1, wherein: the radially-arranged stockpile is arranged about acenter defined by the turret, such that the trailer chassis does notneed to be physically moved from a position established in arranging thestockpile.